New Start

So, the Ferrie Bodde transfer saga is finally over. Apparently this transfer was one of the biggest stories of the summer with Huw Jenkins, the Swansea chairman, at one point comparing it with the Cristiano Ronaldo 'slavery' fiasco at Manchester United! Paul Jewell and Adam Pearson both stated at one point that Bodde was our number one target but things don't always work out and it's refreshing to see we had other irons in the fire with news that Polish international Przemyslaw Kazmierczak will be joining the Rams on loan coming only days after Bodde signed a new contract with the Swans.

Now, compare this to last seasons transfer dealings and it seems as though we have a manager and board who aren't putting all their eggs in one basket. It was one of the worst kept secrets of the summer and early days of last season that Kenwyne Jones was out top target. After the transfer dragged on in a similar manner we were eventually outbid by Sunderland and we seemed to have no plan B and eventually had to resort to Kenny Miller in the last few hours of the transfer window. Admittedly the planning for this season started a lot earlier as we've known which league we'd be in since December but it shows we have a management team with more of a clue what's going on and we're aiming for players outside of the small group who have previously played under the manager or are Scottish internationals.

I'll admit to not knowing too much about the new Polish acquisition but the fact that we're even looking at internationals with Champions League experience playing for one of the biggest clubs in Portugal is a step forward from the previous regime. That coupled with the apparently imminent signing of Rob Hulse from Sheffield United seems to be adding the final touches to our squad for the new season. Paul Jewell has stated he perhaps wants another striker and wide midfielder but we appear to have the basis of a very decent squad. In terms of ability alone we are at least the match of the squad that got us promoted two years ago.

Hopefully the new signings can gel quickly and we can get off to a good start, if so then who knows how far we can go? The only slight doubt may be that due to the high number of signings if things don't go well early could we struggle and will Paul Jewell be under increased pressure? I'd like to think not and that this board can see the potential in place to take this club back to the Premiership and keep ourselves there for a lot longer than last seasons drab effort. The results in pre-season have been a mixed bag so far but two clean sheets in three games would appear to indicate a tightening of things at the end of the pitch the opposition loved to play in last season. With a number of the new signings talking about how they can't wait to play for the club and the potential to return to the Premiership here there seems to be a smile returning the face of the club again after last season and about time to.

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Another awesome piece from diddyram (aka Michael Coombs), you will be reading plenty more from this man over the days, weeks, months and hopefully years right here on Vital Derby. This is yet another inspiration piece, its certainly inspired me to be yet more optimisitc about the season approaching!